A plea to the public: No ifs, ands or butts

Published: September 3, 2013;Last modified: September 3, 2013 05:00AM

They are on sidewalks, in parking lots, on the side of the road and even in our parks. Sometimes, they have been “put out.” Most of the time, they are still lit, especially when thrown from a car window. They have been linked to brush and forest fires.

They are cigarette butts. — and they are the most frequently littered item, according to a survey by Legacy for Health.

The filters on cigarettes (the butt that gets littered) are composed of cellulose acetate — a form of plastic that breaks down slowly in the environment.

Concerns with littered cigarette butts include:

Breakdown of cigarette butts can take 18 months to 10 years, depending on the conditions.

The filters are packed with toxins such as cadmium, arsenic and lead, which pollute the environment by getting into soils and waterways.

Animals that eat littered butts cannot digest them and may suffer from blocked digestive tracts, which can lead to death.

Toddlers and children may pick them up and ingest them. According to the National Capital Poison Center, “ingestion of more than one cigarette or three cigarette butts can cause serious symptoms to a toddler.”

Places littered with cigarette butts are less attractive.

Saturday is Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Day, which makes it an ideal time for people to pick up at least one piece of trash or one cigarette butt and dispose of it properly.